Pierre Delecto (A)sshole, Utah
Posted on 01/28/2020 10:14:31 AM PST by Antoninus
Both in front of the cameras and behind closed doors, Republican Sen. Mitt Romney (UT) has embraced the role of leader of the Senate resistance to the party line on impeachment witnesses — and some of his colleagues are making brutally clear how they feel about it.
In a private lunch with fellow Senate Republicans Monday, the frequent critic of President Trump reportedly “made a strong pitch” for calling additional witnesses for the Senate trial, according to Politico’s sources.
In addition to trying to convince fellow Republicans to defect behind the scenes, Romney is going public with his plea. “The article in the New York Times I think made it pretty clear that [Bolton] has some information that may be relevant,” he said Monday, as reported by Politico. “And I’d like to hear relevant information before I made a final decision.”
The move followed reports based on the leaked manuscript of John Bolton’s upcoming book that reportedly claims that Trump “told his national security adviser in August that he wanted to continue freezing $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine until officials there helped with investigations into Democrats including the Bidens,” as The New York Times reported Sunday.
While Romney has long supported calling witnesses, the conveniently timed leaks have given the Utah Senator and two of his centrist Republican colleagues, Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, additional grounds for making the demands. All the trio needs is one additional Republican defector to side with Democrats to force additional witnesses in the trial, prime among them Bolton.
According to Romney, the claims in Bolton’s book has made it “increasingly likely” that his fellow Republicans will call Bolton to testify: Romney: "Increasingly like" other Senate Republicans will want to hear from John Bolton
Despite his public optimism about winning the witness argument, as Politico notes, the three moderate senators’ appeals seem to be going “nowhere,” and multiple Republican Senators have come forward to push back on Romney’s case for calling witnesses.
As The Daily Wire reported Monday, in a social media post that’s gained a lot of attention online, newly sworn-in Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler (GA) — who, along with her husband, New York Stock Exchange Chairman Jeffrey Sprecher, donated more than $1.5 million to a pro-Romney super PAC in 2012 — slammed Romney for his attempt to “appease the left.”
“After 2 weeks, it’s clear that Democrats have no case for impeachment,” she tweeted Monday. “Sadly, my colleague [Senator Romney] wants to appease the left by calling witnesses who will slander the [Donald Trump] during their 15 minutes of fame. The circus is over. It’s time to move on!”
Politico highlights a few other strong responses from Republican senators to Romney’s witness push:
“I’d rather he not” push for witnesses, said Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.). “He isn’t all that close to the administration. … I don’t agree with him.”
Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) has compared Romney to “Jeff Flake on steroids,” and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) asserted last fall that Romney “thinks the worst of the president.” Trump himself called Romney a “pompous ass” when he expressed concerns about asking other countries to investigate Joe Biden.
Sen. Mark Meadows (R-NC) has also addressed the issue of calling witnesses, sending a clear message to his colleagues considering caving to Democrats’ demands during an interview with CBS News Monday, as The Daily Wire reported. Asked if he thinks his colleagues with “face political repercussions if they break with the president,” Meadows said, “Yeah, I do. I mean, listen, I don’t wanna speak for my Senate colleagues. But there are always political repercussions for every vote you take. There is no vote that is higher-profile than this.”
“I’m also one that believes that when you get close to the president, whether it be his chief of staff or his national security advisor, you have to allow for that free flow of conversation back and forth, where ideas can be shared,” Meadows explained earlier in the interview. “And so I do believe that executive privilege should be invoked on that and that we shouldn’t hear from Ambassador Bolton.”
As big an idiot as Sessions has been (oh wait! Trust Session ! the Plan Boss the Plan!) he will vote correctly on committee assignments and chairmanships, federal court appointments and most important of all new USSC nominations!
That really fits him.
And i wanted him to be president...a snake in the grass.
Assault-Weapons Ban Mitt, Gay Marriage Mitt, State-Run Healthcare Mitt.
Romney is free to have his own opinion. But whipping votes contrary to the wishes of GOP leadership is way, way over the line.
Romney belongs in the Senate broom closet for the duration. Any leader worth his salt would have ground Romney’s family jewels to dust for such a stunt.
McConnell is only Majority Leader because he is weak. That much should be abduntently clear at this point.
Meaning if comes down to Session & Jones, easy peasy choice! Sessions over Jones!
Subpoena ROMNEY’s son.
THAT is why he is such a bast$#d against America.
2012 was the only time in my voting age life that I didn’t vote for the GOP Presidential candidate — and I must say that I couldn’t be more satisfied with my decision.
"Article I, Section 5, Clause 2: Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member [emphases added]."
At least find out who the RINO senators are, the “Republican” Senators who vote to keep Romney, which such a vote.
Heck, I suppose that all concerned patriots can sign such a petition.
Remember in November!
MAGA! Now KAGA! (Keep America Great Always!)
Pierre Delecto (A)sshole, Utah
Obama was better for America. Glad Romney didnt win.
Nice editing job by the Daily Wire.
Romney’s and Utah’s latest MEADOW MOUNTAIN MASSACRE
along with mutual TREASON against America.
Witnesses to what crime? None was alleged.
a.k.a. “Willard.”
Don’t feel bad. I voted for him too. It was a three clothespin moment.
It was him or the bow-master turn-coat again. Good grief!
The GOP is the useless party..
.Will one, some, or all six favor the Democrats’ push for a longer trial complete with fresh witnesses bearing fresh testimony?
Then there is one very stark political reality.
Those up for re-election this year – Collins, Gardner, and McSally – have no electoral breathing room at all. Stand with the President, and their GOP base stands with them. Come against the president, and all three will fall this November, despite the encouragement of media who desperately want to show their smarts while continually falling victim to dumb.
The Democrats know the verdict on the president is in – he will be acquitted, and the race for the White House will resume in all its glory.
Not only are these people RINOS there dumb..
The longer the Democrat/Left can extend impeachment the less time Sanders and Warren have to campaign, therefore the push to extend impeachment with a feeble call for more and more witnesses (and people like Bolton and Romney are helping them along) will give Biden a significant edge over his communist opponents.
The problem for the Democrat/Left is that Biden would likely be called as a witness ... and the Left knows this (they're already trying -- again, feebly -- to say Biden is not "material" to the impeachment trial and thus cannot be called as a witness ... they'll lose that argument because if anyone is "material" it's the Bidens!)
Biden's testimony (most likely a continuous stream of 5th Amendment refusals to respond) would put Sanders and Warren right back in the fight ... and if Biden prevails then the whacked-out supporters of Sanders and Warren have just another reason to stay home.
It will be interesting how this plays out over the next day or two ...
[In a private lunch with fellow Senate Republicans Monday, the frequent critic of President Trump reportedly “made a strong pitch” for calling additional witnesses for the Senate trial, according to Politico’s sources. ]
Romney is a former governor and two-time presidential candidate who is now the junior senator from one of the most inconsequential states in the U.S. I’m surprised his ego would even allow that kind of humiliation.
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